1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to portable computing devices, and more particularly to systems and methods for alerting a user when one of a plurality of wearable computing devices have generated a user alert.
2. Description of the Related Art
Personal computing devices that can be carried by a person have become popular, and such devices continue to proliferate as the size of computing devices shrinks, allowing the devices to become comparatively unobtrusive and lightweight to carry. Examples of personal computing devices are information devices such as pagers, cellular telephones, laptop and palm top computers, personal music systems, camcorders, and dictating machines, and sensor devices, including biosensors such as heart rate sensors and blood pressure sensors.
As recognized by the present invention, as computing devices continue to be miniaturized, people can be expected to carry more and more wearable personal computing devices. Furthermore, the effectiveness of such devices, as well as their ease of use, would be promoted if some or all of a person's personal computing devices were integrated in a single system or otherwise configured to work in concert with each other. With this in mind, a wireless radiofrequency (RF) communication protocol, referred to as "Bluetooth", has been proposed by an industry consortium to enable computing devices to communicate with each other using what is essentially a wireless standardized local area network.
The present invention recognizes, however, that even should personal computing devices be configured to communicate with each other, such devices nonetheless generate unique alerts that are not integrated with each other. For example, a cellular telephone rings to indicate an incoming call, a pager beeps or vibrates to indicate a page, a biosensor might alarm when a setpoint is reached, a palm top computer might display a visual alert of an incoming email, and so on. In other words, each personal computing device generates its own alert, whether audible, visual, or vibratory.
As understood herein, the generation of many unique alerts has drawbacks. One drawback is that a person must constantly "tune in" to multiple sensory alerts, i.e., the person must listen for a pager beep or cellular telephone ring, visually observe a palm top computer screen, and remain sensitive for a tactile signal. This undesirably diverts the person's attention away from other activities.
Additionally, it is frequently the case that existing alerts are either ineffective or inappropriate, depending on the circumstances. For example, a vibratory tactile alert is ineffective when a person subjected to the alert is operating a vibrating piece of machinery. Also, an audible alert might be ineffective for a person who is hard of hearing, or who is in a noisy place. Moreover, auditory and visual alerts are often inappropriate when, for example, a person is in church, or a meeting, or other circumstance that renders audible and/or visual alerts unwelcome distractions.
Accordingly, the present invention understands that with so many devices requiring a person's attention at various times and under various circumstances, a need exists for an integrated alert notification system. The present invention recognizes that the above-noted shortcomings can be addressed as set forth herein.